A variety of techniques for installing pipes and other utility lines (conduits, cables, fibers, tapes, and the like) are well-known. Conventionally, a plow apparatus (e.g., a vibratory plow apparatus) is advanced across a selected land area using a tractor or other vehicle, and a cutting edge of the plow creates a trench into which a pipe, utility line or a group of pipes and/or other utility lines can be placed. Typically, the plow causes significant disturbances within the soil surrounding the trench, and workers are required to manually repair (e.g., excavate) the portions of the land area surrounding the trench to retain a desired overall appearance and soil structure for the land area. These repairs must be performed intermittently throughout the installation of the pipe or other utility line, thereby reducing the efficiency of the installation process.
Thus, there is a need for improved plow assemblies and methods for forming trenches for installation of pipes and other utility lines without significantly disturbing the soil surrounding the trenches and/or without the need for substantial manual repair of the soil surrounding the trenches.